Ammunition-feed mechanism for machine guns



Nov. 27, 1928. 1,693,460

C. L. PAULUS ET AL AMMUNITION FEED MECHANISM FOR MACHINE GUNS Filed Aug. 2, 1926 INVENTOR aL. P/-wL U6'. 6055A? 7' KA uaf/ ATTOR Patented Nov. 27, 1928.

UNI/TED STATES A 1,693,460 PATENT lorifice.

CHARLES L. PAULUS, OF DAYTON, OHIO, AND-ROBERT KAUCH, OF CAMP NICHOIQS,

PHILIPPINE ISLANDS. l

AMMUNITION-FEED MECHANISM FOR MACHINE. GUNS.

Application led August 2, 19,26. Serial No. 126,593.

This invention relates to an apparatus for supplying machine guns with ammunltlon."

One object of this invent1on 1s to provlde an ammunition feed mechanism for eerta1n 6 types of machine guns such as Browning machine guns which will insure .an uninterrupted supply of ammunition and to simpllfy the placing of the supply of ammunltion 1n a position where it can be fed into the gun 10 in the most eiiicient manner.

More specifically our invention relates to the mounting of an am unition feed reel upon a vertical axis dicatly upon the movable or hinged cover f the machine gun. Due to this arrangement the cover may be leasily moved to permit access for purposes of repair or adjustment to the gun. At the same time the ammunition reel is moved out of the way of the operator. lThe ammunition feed device consists of a movingbase with a spiral feed chuteand a detachable ammunition spool or reel mounted thereon. Instead of providing a brake for preventing the overrunning of the reel, upon the reel itself, this brake is provided upon the base just mentioned so that the reel may be atttached to the brake when it is placed in posi- 4 tion on the mounting base.

The weight of the cover and of the ammunition and ammunition feed device guide is counterbalanced when the gun cover is raised by means of counterbalancing springs so that the gun cover may be maintained in its open position without any assistance from the operator and the free use of both hands is permitted in making adjustments or repairs to the gun.

The ammunition feed device herein provided may be attached to existing gun covers of the Browning without making any changes in these existing gun covers. For this purpose the ammunition feed base is attached to the feeding pawl holding member of the gun.

The reel upon which the ammunition is held is provided with a wooden hub of spiral shape so that a groove is provided within which the rst -cartridge rests and a smooth unbroken'line is provided against which the series of cartridges are placed. The two side j discs of the reel are rigidied by ridges formed as radial bulges at their outer por tions. v

The chute, which leads the ammunition from the reel to the gun is formed as two ,end of the cover plate being .pivoted on a separate spaced guide rails, which are held. 56 together by spacing strips, the spaces between the two rails for the most part being entirely open so that the cartridges therein are freely accessible to the operator.

With these objects and advantages in view our invention will now be discussed more fully, having reference to the,y attached specification and drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the ammunition feed apparatus in position upon a Brownin gun.

, Fig. 2 1s a plan view.

Fig. 3 is a section along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2. Describing the figures more in detail, 1 represents a machine gun such as a Browning machine gun having a cover plate which is removable for the purposev of viewing the interior mechanism of the gun, the forward I5 pin 3.

The apparatus comprising this invention is composed of two main parts, a metallic ammunition spool 4 and a combined spool mount and ammunition chute frame 5, which conveys the ammunition from the spool to the The mounting frame 5 has a base 6 which is provided at one end with a pair of fin like projections 7, the bottom part of which t down over the cover plate 2. Each of the projections 7 are provided withy holes 8 in alignment with each other through which the p in 3 at thefront end of the cover plate 2 passes, thereby fastening the frame 4 to thev gun. The upper part of the projections 7 are provided with outwardlyextending pins 9 each adapted to hold an end of ten-'- sion springs 10, the other ends of which are fastened to the gun in some convenient manner at 11. The base 6 is also provided with a hole 12-which corresponds with the hole in the cover plate 2, of the Browning gun.

"Extending through thehole 12 is a key 13 which holds the'base, firmly in contact with the cover plate. This key is attached to the lfeed pawl holding member at present in use in the Browning gun so that no changes are necessary in the construction of the gun itself. It will be seen from the foregoing description that the cover platemay be raised with the pin 3 as a pivot without removing the apparatus. The spring 10 is arranged to hold the cover plate in an open position, thus permitting the operator the free use of both hands in making repairs oi' adjustments to the gun.

Near its other end the base 6 is provided with a hollow axle 14 for the ammunition spool to revolve upon at the top and inside of which there is an inwardly projecting flange 15 of a predetermined depth to which the spool may be fastened.

The spool is made from spring steel and both the top disc end 16 and t-he bottom disc end 17 are ribbed as at 17 to give added strength to the discs. It is understood that these belts are Wound on the spool before placing the same on the axle.- For the purpose of securing the spool to the axle the top isc 16 is provided with a. anged handle plate 18, into which is fitted a slide member 19 provided atits exposed end with a thumb rest 21 to which is attache-d a resilient member 22. When the spool is placed in position, this hooked member catches on the inwardly extending flange 15 and prevents the removal ot' the spool until it is released by pressing the thumb rest 21 inwardly. A strap handle 24 is attached to this handle plate 18.

When the cartridge belt is placed in position upon the spool the cartridges are prevented from iinwinding by the insertion of a pin through the holes 23 provided near the rim of the ends 16, 17 of the spool. The rim of the ends 16, 17 of the spool are flanged outwardly as shown in Fig. 3 to assist the ribs 17 in maintaining the rigidity of the spool so that it may sustain the heavy weight of the cartridges.

The rotation of the spool is permitted by7 a rotating base 25 which is mounted on and revolves upon the xed axle 14. Within the interior of the base 25 is a spring band 26 which is fixed to base 6 and which prohibits the too free rotation of the base 25 by creatmg a friction against the flange thereof. There are three conical projections 27 extending upward and spaced apart 120 degrees upon the top surface of the'base 25. When the spool is placed in position these projections it into a series of holes 28 spaced very close to one another in the lower disc 17 of the spool. A large number of holes are prof vided so that the operator may easily and quickly create the connect-ion wit-hout adjustv ing the spool about its axis of rotation.

The lhub of the spool is further provided with a depression or chamber 29 into which the first cartridge of the belt to be wound upon the spool fits, thus when it is completely wound an even surface results and all of the bullets are in a vertic-al position. The first cart-ridge is held by a metal spring clip 24 which is attached to one end of a cxible fabric strap 25', the other end of which is screwed or nailed to the wooden hub of the spool. Thus the last cartridge may be guided up to the chute and pulled away from its holding clip as the cartridges `are fed into the (Tun.

D After the spool has been placed in position the belt is partially unwound and shoved by hand into the `spiral guideway or chute 5 which is attached firmly to the base The usual manually rotatable star wheel may be employed to feed the series of cartridges to o and along the chute 5, dr may be located at the end of the chute adjacent the gun to start the feed of the ammunition to the gun. The guideway conducts the belt of ammunition to the desired point'on the gun. Of course it is understood that after the first bullet has lbeen fired, the action of the machine gun effects the further unwinding of the belt and supply of ammunition to the O'un. As a result of this method of supplyl Tie bullets pass through a more accurate and surev delivery of the bullets to the gun. rllie guideway consists of two tracks held apart by spacing strips 22 a distance equal to the length of the cartridge. This guideway is not encased but on the contrary is left open to inspection. The ammunition spool is in a cert-ain position with relation to the spiral guideway or chute. To insure that the spool will always be in its proper position upon replacement and during operation the hook member 23 is of such a length that it fits snugly beneath the fiange 15 at all times to maintain the spool in position so that the cartridge chain will be in position to pass along the chute The belt leaves the spool at a tangent when it enters the spiral. When the belt is in posi tion the projectiles are vertical and the spiral chute changes them to a horizontal position in order to be placed in the gun.

We claim:

1. The combination, in an ammunition feed mechanism for a gun having a gun cover of a spiral ammunition guideway and a rotary ammunition holder mounted upon the gun cover. n

2. The combination, in an ammunition feed mechanism, of a spiral guideway, a rotary ammunition holder, a base securing the two in juxtaposition, a movable cover plate for a gun and connection means between the cover plate and the base for mounting the feed mechanism on the gun cover.

3. The combination in an ammunition feed mechanism,of a spiral guideway,a rotary ammunition holder, a base securing the two in juxtaposition, a movable cover plate for a gun and connection means between the cover plate and the base whereby the cover plate may be raised without removing the "spiral guideway or rotary feed holder.

4. The combination, in an ammunition feed mechanism, of a spiral guideway,'a rotary ammunition holder, a base securing the two in juxtaposition, a pivoted movable cover plate for a gun, connecting means between feed mechanism for a gun' having a cover lil) -lil

' plate pivoted on a pin on the gun, ofa spiral guideway, a rotary ammunition holder, a base securing the two in juxtaposition, and means to fasten the base to the pin upon which the cover plate is pivoted.

7. The combination, according and means to fasten the base to the cover plate, comprising in additionto the pivoted pin, a key extending through the base into the cover plate.

8. An ammunition holder for machine guns comprising a spool adapted to receive a belt of ammunition, the hub of the spool being recessed to receive the first of the series of ammunition.

9. The combination, in an ammunition feed mechanism for machine guns, of a rotary ammunition holder comprising a spool adapted to receive a belt of ammunition, the hub of which is recessed to receive the first of the series of ammunition and a. spiral guideway for conveying the belt of ammuni-` tion from the. ammunition holder to its source.

10. The combination in an ammunition feed mechanism for machine guns, an ammuiiiton reel, means for mounting said reel for rotation on the gun, a device for retarding the rotation of the ammunition holder and means for readily detachably connecting said device to said reel.

to claim 4,"

11. The combinationiin an ammunition a feed mechanism of a spiral guideway, a vertical axle, an interior flange 1n said axle, a

removable spool and means for securing the spool to the axle consisting of a spring hooked member'whichintercepts the interiorflange Whenthe spool is placed in position.

12. The combination in an ammunition feed mechanism ofa spiral guideway,a removable rotary ammunition' holder, a series of holes in 'one end thereof, a. revoluble base,

vand means for connecting the ammunition holder to the revolving base, said means comprising a number of upwardly. extending `projections on the revolving base adapted to conform with the holes in the ammunition holder, said projections being less in number than said holes.

' 13. In combination in an` ammunition feed mechanism for machine guns, a spiral guide- Way, a removable rotary ammunition spool, a base attached to said guideway, an axle 'rigid with said base for mounting said spool,` a rotatable member on 'said axle, brake means for said member and means for connecting and disconnecting said spool to said member for simultaneous rotation, said spool `and gidevvaybeing situated in such relation that the ammunition enters the spiral at a tangent to the hub of the spool.

14. The combination in an ammunition feed mechanism, of a rotary ammunition holder and a spiral ammunition conveying chute, comprising two spaced spiral guide-y wayssaidspiral changing the bullets from a vertical position upon their reception-to a 'horizontal one upon delivery from said chute.

15. The combination as set forth in claim 13 said base being horizontally pivoted to' the o'un.

e In testimony whereof we aix our signatures.

CHARLES L. PAULUS.

nonirr- Kauen. 

